UFC Reels In Explosive Brendson Ribeiro, Four Others on Week 5 of DWCS

Those who choose to exchange with Brendson
Ribeiro do so at their own risk.

The Shooto Brazil titleholder was one of five hopefuls to net an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 5 of Dana
White’s Contender Series, as he buried Bruno Lopes
with first-round punches in the featured light heavyweight
attraction on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Lopes (11-1, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows 3:47 into Round
1.

Neither man showed much in the way of caution. Lopes moved forward
behind a few leg kicks and winging power punches, only to walk into
a buzzsaw. Ribeiro (15-5, 1-0 DWCS) dropped the Legacy Fighting
Alliance champion with a crisp one-two, then pounced with punches
and hammerfists until the job was done.

Bantamweight Serhiy
Sidey, featherweight Jean Silva,
women’s flyweight
Dione Silva Barbosa de Lima and middleweight Dylan Budka
will join Ribeiro on the UFC roster, bringing the total number of
Season 7 signees to 21.

Sidey cut down Ramon
Taveras with punches in the first round of their bantamweight
co-feature.
Taveras (8-2, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 2:26 into Round 1, though he
appeared to be defending himself lucidly when referee Kevin
MacDonald called for the stoppage.

The 27-year-old Sidey (10-1, 1-0 DWCS) probed for openings with
kicks to all levels, using his long legs to counteract his
opponent’s quick hands. Taveras connected with a few clean jabs and
combinations but failed to move the Battlefield Fight League off
his spot. Sidey popped him with a jab, stepped back to reset and
floored him with a surgical one-two. He followed up with punches
and hammerfists, as MacDonald swooped in to wave it off.

The setback interrupted a run of four consecutive victories for
Taveras.

Meanwhile, Silva called upon high-impact punches, knees, elbows and
kicks in a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Kevin
Vallejos in a three-round featherweight scrap. All three
cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Silva (11-2, 1-0
DWCS).

Vallejos (11-1, 0-1 DWCS) had all the necessary tools, except for
firepower. After a clean first round, the promising 21-year-old
prospect ran into trouble. Silva mauled him with body-head
combinations, stepping elbows and even a few shovel uppercuts. He
followed a close-range knee strike with an elbow upstairs and a
flurry of punches, as he flirted with a finish. Vallejos weathered
the assault but retreated to his corner between rounds with
significant damage to his nose. The two-division Samurai Fight
House champion’s situation did not improve much across the final
five minutes, as Silva continued to stalk him with a variety of
weapons and threw in a late takedown for good measure.

Silva now finds himself on an eight-fight winning streak.

Kings MMA’s Barbosa de Lima put away Rainn
Guerrero with an armbar in the first round of their women’s
flyweight affair.
Guerrero (5-2, 0-1 DWCS) conceded defeat 4:35 into Round
1, her four-fight winning streak having run its
course.

Barbosa de Lima (6-2, 1-0 DWCS) slipped on kick, setting of an
extended ground exchange that ultimately played into the
Brazilian’s hands. Guerrero scrambled to her feet at one point,
only to get lured into the clinch. Barbosa de Lima executed a
head-and-arm throw and threatened with a scarf hold armlock before
surrendering top position. She proved to be just as dangerous from
the bottom, where she caught the armbar and activated her hips to
force the tapout.

The 31-year-old Barbosa de Lima has won three fights in a row.

Finally, Demolition Fight Team’s Budka (6-2, 1-0 DWCS) took a
unanimous decision from Chad
Hanekom (9-3, 0-1 DWCS), drawing 29-28 marks from all three
members of the cageside judiciary in one of the season’s most
forgettable encounters. UFC President Dana White placed the blame
for the lack of action squarely on Hanekom.